Pentagon Press Secretary Admiral John Kirby confirms:
- *U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT STRIKE ISLAMIC STATE ARTILLERY: PENTAGON
- *STRIKE CONDUCTED BY 2 F-18A AIRCRAFT DROPPING 500 LB BOMBS
- *U.S. CONDUCTED AIRSTRIKE IN IRAQ AT 6:45 EASTERN: PENTAGON
We anxiously await ISIS' response which - as the State Department warns "could leave Mosul under 100 feet of water."
The aistrikes begin...
US military aircraft conduct strike on ISIL artillery. Artillery was used against Kurdish forces defending Erbil, near US personnel.
— Rear Adm. John Kirby (@PentagonPresSec) August 8, 2014 [5]
The retaliation awaits...
.@StateDept [6] confirms #ISIS [7] taken Mosul dam. Threatens entire Tigris plain: could put Mosul under 100 feet of water, Baghdad 16 feet. #Iraq [8]
— Jon Williams (@WilliamsJon) August 8, 2014 [9]
As we first warned about the Dam over the weekend... [10]
According to Al Arabia [11]it is this "weakest link" that is now in play after ISIS took over Iraq's biggest dam unopposed by Kurdish fighters, who also lost three towns and an oilfield on Sunday to the Sunni militant group, witnesses said cited by Reuters.
[12]
Iraqi security officials said Wednesday that fighters for the
Islamic State in Iraq and Syria were advancing on the Haditha Dam, the
second-largest in Iraq.
[13]
VOA confirms [14]:
Islamic State fighters seized control of Iraq's biggest dam, an oilfield and two more towns on Sunday after inflicting their first major defeat on Kurdish forces since sweeping through the region in June
Local officials said militants with the extremist group Islamic State took control of the towns of Zumar and Sinjar near the city of Mosul on Sunday, waging fierce clashes with Kurdish forces.
The French news agency AFP quoted a United Nations spokesman saying 200,000 people have fled Sinjar and said there are grave concerns for their safety.
It gets worse: control of the dam could give ISIS, which has threatened to march on Baghdad, the ability to flood major cities.
* * *
And if Baghdad does indeed fall, all those recent Crude shorts will be less than happy.
